The present invention relates to a video recording medium having a video recording region for recording images continuously and a picture contents recording region for recording picture representing the images as picture contents, a video retrieving method for retrieving the picture contents recording region of the video recording medium, and a video recording apparatus for recording ordinary images and picture contents in such recording medium.
Hitherto, a video recording medium, a video recording apparatus, and a video retrieving apparatus are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 6-243665.
FIG. 4(a) shows a structure of a conventional video recording medium, which comprises a body region (first region) for recording plural events, and a contents region (second region) for recording representative images of individual events together as picture contents. Herein, events are synonymous to scenes. For example, in news gathering or drama taking, it is common to take plural events (scenes) consisting of a series of related images as one event (scene) each, and events are sequentially recorded in a magnetic tape.
In order to identify the taken scene at a glance at the editing stage after filming, it has been proposed to record a representative image of each scene as picture contents at a specified position (at the beginning of a magnetic tape or at the end of a recorded image) of a tape (an example of recording picture contents at the beginning of a magnetic tape is proposed in the cited prior art). Accordingly, at the editing stage, the representative image of each scene (picture contents) can be recognized instantly on the screen, and the editing efficiency is enhanced.
In particular, when finishing the filming, by recording all picture contents at the end of the recorded images, it is possible to identify promptly without having to rewind the magnetic tape to the beginning, and therefore it is a general practice to record the picture contents at the end of the recorded images.
In such video recording medium, video recording apparatus, and video retrieving apparatus, when the magnetic tape is kept at the position of recording the picture contents at the end of the recorded images after filming, the picture contents appear on the screen only by slightly rewinding and reproducing, and the picture contents can be checked immediately, but when the tape is fast forwarded or rewound after recording the picture contents, the recorded position of the picture contents is deviated, and it is required to reproduce and search from the beginning again, which takes much time and labor.
It is hence an object of the invention to search the recorded position of picture contents in the recording medium quickly and efficiently, by recording the picture contents retrieval information for retrieving the picture contents regions in the picture contents recorded region or its neighboring region at every recording of each event (scene), instead of recording them all at the beginning or end of the tape as mentioned above. That is, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when recording every event, the picture contents retrieval information is recorded in the contents region which is the second region or in a third region.
To solve the problem, the video recording medium of the invention comprises a first region for recording plural video scenes, and a second region provided next to the first region for recording a representative image of each scene of the plural video scenes as picture contents, in which picture contents retrieval information for retrieving the picture contents is recorded in the second region or in a third region provided at its vicinity.
Accordingly, a format of a video recording medium capable of retrieving picture contents at high speed is obtained. Also to solve the problem, the video recording apparatus of the invention is constituted to record plural video scenes in a first region, to record a representative image of each scene of the plural video scenes as picture contents in a second region, and to record picture contents retrieval information in the second region or its vicinity. Therefore, by searching the picture contents retrieval information, the picture contents can be retrieved at high speed in the video recording medium.
Further to solve the problem, the video retrieving method of the invention, using a video recording medium which comprises a first region for recording plural video scenes, and a second region for recording a representative image of each scene of the plural video scenes as picture contents, in which picture contents retrieval information for retrieving the picture contents is recorded in the second region or in a third region provided at its vicinity, is intended to find out the recorded position of the picture contents by retrieving the picture contents retrieval information.
It is hence possible to retrieve the picture contents at high speed by searching the picture, contents retrieval information.